simeple answer to your first question.. throw a project in the hopper.
Part of why you avoid creative burn out is because you love it so much. The reason you love it is because you'd do it it on or off the clock. Well, the clock's off. You can go wild.
enjoy.

I shot this last weekend with my sons:

It's not a pilot. It in no way was shot with the thoughts of it yielding some sort of monitary profit. My boys and I simply had a blast, old school-style with the camera for an evening. Editing this was almost as enjoyable as the tick-gettin' part.

We work like the dickens w hen booked, Lord knows. There is an art to learning how to take a day off when a day off shows up. They key, as with all arts, is to practice.